Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship


The Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in any time, anywhere match|anywhere], as long as a referee is there to confirm the win. Because of this rule, not only is the championship winnable regardless of gender or number of individuals, it is also available to "unconventional" champions such as animals or inanimate objects, with title changes regularly occurring outside of regular shows, often with videos posted on the promotion's social media accounts.
The championship was introduced on the June 29, 2000 TV taping, during which Poison Sawada Black created the title and awarded it to himself. It was created as a parody of the now-defunct WWE Hardcore Championship, which also had a "24/7 rule". The title is often defended during a 10-minute battle royal, with the current holder not being allowed to leave the match until the end of the time limit; as per 24/7 rules, the championship can change hands during, and not only as the result, of the match. Despite its name and similarly titled championships, it is not specific to Iron Man matches.

History

On November 2, 1998, Mr. McMahon awarded Mankind the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship. As Mankind and hardcore wrestling became more popular with audiences, the Hardcore Championship became a more serious title. Its popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling to create its own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerous independent promotions. When Crash Holly won the belt on February 22, 2000, he introduced the "24/7 rule" that the belt was to be defended at all times as long as a referee was present.
On June 29, 2000, Poison Julie Sawada introduced the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship in DDT as a parody of the WWF Hardcore title and recognized himself as the first champion. Minutes after the unveiling, Mitsunobu Kikuzawa demanded he had a look at the title belt. He then used it to attack Sawada and pinned him to become the second champion.
The 1,000th Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion was crowned on April 29, 2014, when the title belt itself became the champion by pinning Sanshiro Takagi. At Ultimate Party 2023, the championship belt was won by a different title, the IWGP [Junior Heavyweight Championship], which pinned its holder at the time, Hiromu Takahashi, only to lose the Ironman title seconds later to Kazuki Hirata.
On May 31, 2025, Poison Sawada Julie won the title back for a tenth time. He announced that he would unveil a new belt for the title at King of Kings, on June 29, for the 25th anniversary of the title.

Belt design

The original championship belt design featured three glittery silver plates on a black leather strap which had a snake skin pattern on the back. The central plate featured brass knuckles surrounded by chains in the center. The word "IRONMAN" was written along the edge of the top half and the word "CHAMPION", though partially erased by years of wear and tear, was written along the bottom edge. The two side plates, on either side of the central plate, were rectangular and identically stated "24 HOURS".
The new design, which was introduced for the title's 25th anniversary, features five gray plates. The center plate has golden brass knuckles in the middle. "DDT IRONMAN" is written along the top edge, and "HEAVYMETALWEIGHT CHAMPION" is written along the bottom edge. The inner side plates feature "365" in black on top of a globe on one side, and "24/7" surrounded by a sun and a moon on the other. The two outer side plates depict wrestlers performing submission holds.

Reigns


Notable champions

As of November 2024, there have been over 1,700 title changes for the belt, which has been won by numerous male and female wrestlers and non-wrestlers, including children, animals, entire audiences and inanimate objects.

Animals

  • Yatchan — monkey
  • Cocolo — miniature Dachshund dog
  • Bunny — cat

Inanimate objects

Non-existent

  • Arnold Skeskejanaker — "invisible wrestler" i.e. non-existent. Opponents sell moves of a wrestler who isn't there, and the title is held by nothing and no-one but the wrestlers and referees act as if they can see and pin the "invisible wrestler". Muscle Sakai "won" the title from this "invisible wrestler" by using a "ray gun" and "infrared visor" to shoot the "invisible wrestler", winning the belt on a KO decision.
  • The Invisible Man — another "invisible wrestler"

Collective champions